~Everything's Not What It Seems~

Alex and Justin are siblings sent to Hogwarts to learn about magic just like their father. There they meet new friends, fall in love, and find out that truly everything is not what it seems.

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling and Disney Channel own the right to all these character. I am only borrowing them :)


The weekend went by quickly, despite the emptiness of the school due to the trip to Hogsmeade. For the students who did attend the trip to Hogsmeade, their return brought a lot of excited chatter about their weekend activities. Alex heard praises about the famous butterbeer served at the Three Broomsticks as well as the amazing sweets sold at Honeydukes. While Alex was initially disappointed that she would not be making the trip to Hogsmeade that weekend, she didn't mind it after the amazing weekend she had spent with Cedric. After their kiss, Alex and Cedric did end up having a picnic by the lake. Alex told Cedric about more of her adventures in Waverley Place and what it was like to grow up in the muggle world. Cedric listened to Alex in fascination, asking questions when she made reference to things he was not familiar with. Alex found it adorable. When dinner time came around, they returned to the castle to find Justin and Max waiting for them in the great hall.

Sunday wasn't as exciting or eventful as her Saturday, but she did enjoy her time with her brothers and Cedric. Despite the weekend trip, Professor Snape had assigned the third years a lot of homework. Alex joined Justin and Cedric that morning in the library, against her will as she liked to described it. As she progressed on her homework, Cedric would reward her with kisses. Needless to say, Alex was motivated. Lunch was spent with both her brothers and Cedric, and by the afternoon, the other students had returned and Cedric left Alex to check in with the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

Monday morning quickly arrived and Alex was making her way to the great hall to grab some breakfast. As she was about to turn the corner, she was ambushed by her favorite set of redhead twins. They each wrapped an arm around her shoulder, joining her on the walk to the great hall. "Morning, Alex!" They both chirped at the same time.

"Good morning Fred, good morning George!" She smiled, looking from one to the other. "On your way to breakfast?"

"Of course, most important meal of the day, or something like that." Fred replied. "We were hoping to catch you this morning. We've heard a few rumors going around since yesterday and wanted to confirm its accuracy with you."

Alex rolled her eyes. "You know, I don't listen to rumors."

"Now we know that's not entirely true Alex. You're always listening in for rumors related to mischief. Am I wrong?" George asked, as the twins stopped outside the great hall.

"Okay, you may not be wrong about that. So you have some mischief-relate rumor? Tell me! I've been just itching to get in some trouble." Alex pulled away from the twins, facing them to rub her hands together in excitement. "What do you got for me?"

"Sorry Alex, nothing mischief-related today." Fred frowned.

"Booo. Then I'm not interested!" Alex turned from them, ready to make her way into the great hall.

"Alex." She stopped, turning back to her friends with a frown.

"Rumor has it, you're snogging Cedric Diggory." George said with a tone of distaste.

Alex opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she felt a hand interlace with hers. She smiled, looking next to her to see that Cedric had joined them outside the great hall. "Does that confirm the rumor for you?" Cedric smiled as he looked at them.

"So the rumors are true… Cedric Diggory and Alex Russo are together? But when did this happen?" Fred frowned as he looked at their intertwined hands.

"First you guys tell me where you heard about the 'snogging' from." Alex looked at the two.

"Lee told us that he saw you two snogging in front of the library yesterday before lunch." Fred explained.

Alex looked at Cedric with a smile as he squeezed her hand. "Yep, that was us. While everyone else was enjoying Hogsmeade, Cedric stayed back to spend the day with me. This..." She pointed from Cedric to herself. "is what resulted."

Alex watched as the twins looked at each other just as they had the first time she met them, as if they were speaking telepathically to one another. Fred nodded first, then George. They moved towards her and Cedric, pulling them away from each other as they each wrapped an arm around Cedric and began walking in the other directions.

"Hey! Bring me back my boyfriend!"

The twins ignored Alex as they stopped a few feet away from her and turned their focus on Cedric. "So as you may already be aware, Alex is a dear troublemaking friend of ours." Fred started.

"And while we haven't known her long, she has quickly become one of us. We just want to make it clear, if you ever hurt our friend..." George smiled.

"We'll hurt you." Fred finished. The two didn't wait for a response from Cedric, they let him go, each sent a wave to Alex, then headed straight into the great hall. Alex couldn't help but smile as she watched her friends leave.

"Strange friends you have…" Cedric shook his head as he made his way back to Alex. He smiled when he was in front of her, then dipped his head towards hers to give her a quick peck on the lips.

"They're one of a kind." Alex smiled. "Breakfast?"

Cedric nodded. He interlaced his fingers with hers again before leading them into the great hall. Alex noticed as they walked to the end of the Gryffindor table, that there was more than a few people eyeing the couple. Malfoy and some of the other 3rd years Slytherins she recognized, older Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw girls, and of course her fellow Gryffindors.

As Alex and Cedric approached Justin at the end of the Gryffindor table, her eyes met Harry's. He was seated close by with Ron, Hermione and Neville. Alex felt her heart twist a little at the saddened look on Harry's face.

"Alex?" She looked back at Cedric to see him watching her with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you want to sit down?"

"Oh, right, yes I do." Alex took a seat across from her brother, who was already loading toast and scrambled eggs onto his place. "Hi Justin."

"Good Morning Alex, Cedric." He smiled at them. Alex looked beside her to see Cedric still standing next to the table. "Aren't you going to sit down Cedric?"

"Actually, I meant to tell you, I promised to have breakfast with the quidditch team. We have a match coming up so there is much to discuss. Next time, I promise!" Alex nodded as Cedric quickly dipped his head to give her a peck on this lips. He gave Justin a nod goodbye before walking over to the next table. Alex turned back to Justin to find him watching her with a smile.

"What?"

"I'm happy you decided to give Cedric a chance. I thought you'd reject him because…"

"Because?"

"Well, I kind of thought you would reject him because of Harry. I mean, it was kind of obvious you two had a bit of crush on each other from the beginning. But it's good you've gotten over that crush. Cedric is a great guy and he's a safer alternative than Harry." Justin shrugged before digging into his breakfast.

As Alex began to load up food onto her plate, she stopped to think about her brother's comment. A safer alternative. Since when did Alex care about what was safe? There was more to Cedric than that him being safe. He was older than Harry. He was wiser than Harry. He was also more popular than Harry. Wait... why was she comparing Cedric to Harry?

~~~~~

Harry clenched his fist as he watched on in front of him the proof to support the rumor Lee has been spreading that morning in the common room. The rumor that Alex Russo was snogging Cedric Diggory last night in front of the library. Harry watched as Alex took a seat across from her brother Justin after their momentary stare-down. Cedric gave Alex a quick peck before heading away from the Gryffindor table. Harry hadn't even realized that Alex and Cedric were friends, let alone interested in each other. Now he had her and he was he leaving her to be with his friends. If it were him, he would spend every moment he possibly could with Alex. But it wasn't him.

Harry sighed, turning back to his friend to find them watching him intently. "What?"

Hermione looked at Ron knowingly then looked at Harry with a sigh. "Harry, you need to forget about Alex. It's apparent she wants nothing to do with you. And now she's with Cedric Diggory. I think's it's time you accept this and move on."

Harry knew that Hermione was right. Hermione was always right. But Harry didn't want to admit to her that she was right, because that would mean admitting to his friends that that he liked Alex. That was not something he was ready to do. "I don't know what you're talking about. Moving on would imply I liked Alex in the first place. I'm just surprised that the rumors about her and Cedric Diggory were true, since he's a fifth year and she's only a third year."

"You sure, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yes, of course I'm sure. I don't have any feelings for Alex." Harry rolled his eyes as Ron and Hermione shared another look. But they finally dropped the topic. Though he wouldn't admit it to his friend, he did have to admit it to himself. Alex was with Cedric now, he needed to accept this and move on.

~~~~~

Harry couldn't believe himself. He was staring at the door, praying that Alex would make her way into the dungeon in the next two minutes before Professor Snape started class. Why couldn't he get Alex out of his head? He barely knew her.

Harry watched on in anticipation as the door flew open. He was disappointed when he realized it was only Seamus. As his eyes fell on a couple standing a few feet away from the entrance, holding hand and giggling, Harry couldn't help but frown. She wasn't running late... she was outside with her boyfriend. As the door began to close, Harry could see Alex moving onto her tippy toes so she could give Cedric a kiss on the lips. He quickly looked away, turning his attention to the potions textbook sitting on his desk. He was an idiot. He didn't look up as he heard the door to the dungeon open again and heard Alex make her way to the seat across from him.

"Today class, if you turn your books to page ninety-three, you'll find the recipe for a very basic potion." Professor Snape walked into the room, immediately starting class. "Now I know most of you nitwits can't prepare even the most basic potion without blowing something up…" He paused, glaring at Neville. "Which is why, I will be pairing you each with someone that doesn't match your skill."

Harry sighed. Just wonderful. Harry was terrible at potions and Professor Snape knew this. Harry only hoped that he would be paired with one of his friends and not a with Slytherin. If he was lucky, he would be paired with Hermione.

"Malfoy and Goyle, Hermione and Ronald…" As Professor Snape continued to list off the pairs, Harry was disappointed to hear his friends each being paired off. At this rate, he'd be lucky if he didn't end up paired with a Slytherin. "… and finally, Harry and Alexandra. Begin. I expect your potions to be prepared by the end of class or I will be expecting a paper from every person who fails to complete the potion on my desk first thing tomorrow morning." With that, Professor Snape turned around and headed back into his office.

Harry looked at Alex to find that she already had her goggles on and has started gathering the ingredients for the potion. He looked at Ron and Hermione who were watching them with concern. Hermione gave him a pointed look, urging him to engage with Alex.

"Er, Alex?" Harry said hesitantly. She looked up at him expectantly, a hint if impatience in her eyes. What did he need to ask her? He'd forgot. Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe he should just do the essay. Professor Snape would find a way to assign him an essay anyway. Harry almost considered it. "Since we are partners... don't you think you should be teaching me how to do this?"

Alex nodded. "Yes, of course. And that's exactly what I'm doing. Take out your notebook and take notes while I make the potion. It's easy as that, I make the potion, you take notes and learn, neither of us has to write the paper. Everyone's happy." Alex gave Harry a forced smile before returning her focus to the cauldron in front of her.

That went well...

~~~~~

"You guys! I haven't gotten into any mischief since I entered Hogwarts. Please, help me!" Alex complained to Fred and George. The three of them were seated together in front of the fireplace of the Gryffindor common room.

"We haven't gotten into much trouble this year either. Quite frankly, I find it ridiculous!" Fred frowned at his brother.

"It's a good thing that you haven't gotten into any trouble Alex!" Alex rolled her eyes as her brother approached them. He had just entered the common room after a day of studying in the library. He put his hands on his hips and frowned at the three of them. "You're going to keep it that way, right?" He looked at them expectantly.

No way in hell! Alex opened her mouth to respond but Fred quickly cut her off before she could. "Yes, mom! We'll behave." Justin rolled his eyes at Fred before heading towards the boy's dormitories. Alex looked to the twins in disappointment.

"So, no mischief?" She pouted as the twins watched her with a smirk. "Wait, you guys were kidding?"

"Of course Alex, do you really think your brother will stop us from having some fun?" Fred looked from Alex to George, a devious expression on his face.

"I know that face. What's the plan? I'm in!" Alex rubbed her hands together.

"Good. We'll need all three of us to accomplish this." George and Alex both leaned towards Fred to listen to his plan. Alex became more and more excited as she listened in on the prank he had devised. His prank wasn't the most original, but it was a good start. "What do you think?"

"It's brilliant, Fred!" George looked excitedly at his brother.

The two both looked at Alex expectantly. "It's okay… but I think, we can change it up a bit."

"How?" The twins asked in unison. Alex smirked.

~~~~~

It was Monday morning and Alex was seated at the Gryffindor table with Fred and George. It was a bit earlier than the time most students would be up for breakfast, so only as few people were already there. Alex could see Cedric at the Hufflepuff table with some of his friends, talking animatedly about the quidditch match they had coming up against Gryffindor. Justin was at the end of the Gryffindor table talking to Neville.

"Where are they?" Alex whined to Fred and George.

"Patience my friend. Might take them a while. Until they realize nothing can be done to correct it, at least." Fred snickered, shooting her a wink.

Alex smirked. She grabbed a few mini pancakes of a buffet platter and placed it onto her plate. After pouring syrup over it, she cut into a pancake and forked some into her mouth. When she looked at the twins again, they were watching her in disbelief.

"How can you eat in a time like this?"

Alex rolled rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna let myself look guilty! Now let me enjoy my food, if you would like to join me and have some of these mini pancakes, you're more than welcome."

She returned her focus to her food, smiling in victory when Fred and George joined her. Some time passed and the great hall started to fill up. Alex had just finished her breakfast when the doors to the great hall opened again and five hooded Slytherins entered. The great hall went quiet as the group made their way to the Slytherin table. Alex looked at Fred and George with a smile as they tried to hold back their laughter. Alex looked around them to see the questioning glances and murmurs amongst the other students. Just you wait.

"Wonder how long before everyone gets to take a peak." Fred whispered to them.

"Oh, you thought I was done?" The twins looked at her in confusion. She held up her hand, signaling for them to wait. Alex turned around, smirking as Professor Snape made his way past their table.

"Professor Snape!" He stopped, narrowing his eyes at Alex and her friends.

"Can I help you Ms. Russo?" He said in his drone tone.

"Well actually, I just remembered that in the Hogwarts school rule book, it states that students may not wear hoods or hats in the great hall unless there is a special occasion that allowed for it. I just wanted to confirm that this was correct?"

Professor Snape looked at her curiously before hesitantly nodding. "Yes, that's correct Ms. Russo, your point?"

"My point is that it doesn't seem very fair that those Slytherins get special treatment. It goes against the rule you just confirmed exists." Professor Snape glanced at the five hooded Slytherins. He stared at them with an irritated expression before nodding at Alex, then marching over to them.

"And when were you planning on letting us in on this part of the plan? This is brilliant!" Alex turned to face the twins, shaking her head at them. "Wouldn't be that fun if there wasn't a bit of surprise for you two, now would it?"

They looked back at Professor Snape, who had reached the five hooded Slytherins. He looked at them distastefully as he spoke. His anger slightly peaking as he talked directly to the middle one. Finally he stopped speaking and looked at them each expectantly. One by one they unhooded themselves. Alex smirked as the great hall burst into a mix of gasps and laughter. Astoria, Pansy, Crabbe, then Goyle revealed themselves from under a hood. The rest of the Slytherin table didn't dare laugh, instead they broke into whispers, pointing at the group of third years. Snape pointed angrily at the last one who had yet to reveal himself. Finally the last one put his hand over his hood, pulling off it off to reveal himself. To reveal Draco Malfoy… with neon orange hair.


Updated!